Pay & Leave Claim Decisions

Office of the General Counsel

This responds to a request for assistance in determining the
disposition of unnegotiated veterans benefits. We have determined
that the amount at issue should be paid to the daughter of the
deceased veteran.

The veteran died on September 28, 1994, and was survived by a
daughter. The veteran was entitled to a retroactive amount of
$8,377, which the bank returned, unnegotiated to the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA).

Title 38, United States Code (U.S.C.), section 5122, states in
part that a check received by a payee in payment of accrued
benefits shall, if the payee died on or after the last day of the
period covered by the check, be returned to the issuing office and
canceled, unless negotiated by the payee or duly appointed
representative of the payee's estate. The amount represented by
such check, or any amount recovered by reason of improper
negotiation of any such check, shall be payable in the manner
provided in section 5121 of this title.

Title 38, U.S.C., section 5121(a) (2) provides that, upon the
death of a veteran receiving benefits, the accrued but unpaid
veteran's benefits are to be paid to the deceased veteran's
survivors, to the living person first listed below: (A) The
veteran's spouse; (B) The veteran's children (in equal shares); (C)
The veteran's dependent parents (in equal shares).

The present record shows that the decedent is survived by a
daughter. Accordingly, the decedent's retroactive payment check of
$8,377 should be reissued in the name of his daughter, if otherwise
correct.

We are returning the file on this claim for action per our
determination. The decedent's daughter is being advised of our
determination by a copy of this letter.